Are these Flowers for real??

i have always been intimidated by these sugarpaste modelled flowers - first of all so many people do it soooo well, and with this heat I have visions of the flowers just melting into oblivion.

then of course I deal with fresh flowers and seriously why would I go and MAKE the flower when I know exactly how and where to get the real thing for half the cost and time and will list a cake anyway...Plus the flowers that I had learnt to make were nice, but there was not realism about it.

but curiosity found me signing up for  course with Alan Dunn while I was recently in the UK, and boy am I a changed person. first of all, I learnt some new tricks and then he introduced me to really exotic flowers (well the fact that you can make them anew at least) and petal dust - oh my word!
they are the bestttttttttt things EVER!

So, yes, if given the time I will make the flowers - they are a nice keepsake at the end of the wedding when all the cake is gone I guess - though I really dont think I can charge the TRUE price for something like this that take a long time and a lot of effort to do...
but hey - it is fun and I like it, so hopefully I get to use it more.

Attached are some of the things we made in class - the Lotus and the Vanilla Orchid and trailing and leaves. SOOO fun!

The Lotus styled with fallen petals

The Vanilla Orchid on its own before colour was added, and then with the foliage (see picture below)